


the start of us

by owlaashi



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: ??? - Freeform, First Dates, M/M, Post-Canon, aquarium date, hand holding, keith being gay and in love with lance, pigbutts, sorta - Freeform, very loose spoilers maybe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:34:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25759663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlaashi/pseuds/owlaashi
Summary: “It looks just like a pigs butt, Keith.”“Why do you know that?” Keith asked, following Lance as they took a small corner to another room.orkeith and lance go on their very first date ever to an aquarium, lance knows very odd facts about sea creatures and keith really wants to hold his hand.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 52





	the start of us

**Author's Note:**

> this is a not outlined, messy stream of un-beta-ed word vomit, i apologize ahead of time for it.

Earth was strange after all the time they spent in space, bouncing between the Castle of Lions and multiple different rest locations on their journey to save not only their world but others as well. Now that the threat was exposed and subsequently taken care of all the paladins and everyone else who helped were able to run free once again; but Keith still felt like space was more home than Earth sometimes. After all, that’s where his mother currently is, her and the rest of the blade rebuilding bases across the universe — where he wants to be. 

But Lance is here, with his family, rebuilding what was left of the Garrison with his sister and watching his nieces and nephews grow older, telling them all stories of their great adventures and all the friends they’d made along the way. Which meant that this was where Keith was going to stay, for as long as he could, as long as he was allowed to. 

If someone had told Keith that this was where he was going to end up, that this was who he was going to end up with years ago, he’d have laughed a horrible laugh and punched them in the face. Years ago Keith looked at Lance like a nuisance, like he wasn’t even worth the time of day, like every time he opened his mouth something useless would come out. Now, though? Now Keith looks at Lance like he personally hung every star in the sky, he listens to him like every word that comes out of his mouth is going to be his last and Keith doesn’t want to miss it. In the heat of everything they’d gone through Lance was the one that kept him calm, that helped him stay grounded when he threatened to float up into the sky. Now if someone were to tell him that there was another way this could have gone, Keith would have laughed at them, and shook his head:  _ There is no other way this could have gone, this is where I’m supposed to be. _

“Are you even listening to me?” 

“No.”  _ A lie _ .

Lance huffs enough air that his bangs displace themselves on his forehead. “I was  _ saying _ that there’s an ocean worm called the pigbutt worm that just floats around in the deep, deep parts of the ocean.” He looks at Keith expectantly, waiting for the reaction he’s already expecting. 

Keith’s eyebrows knit together, part disgust and part trying to figure out just exactly what this thing looks like. 

“It looks just like a pigs butt, Keith.”

“Why do you know that?” Keith asked, following Lance as they took a small corner to another room. 

Their first Earth date, or well their first real date anywhere. Keith had been too wrapped up in himself, Shiro and saving the universe to really see what Lance meant to him until it was almost too late too. After it was over all the paladins had helped Earth rebuild what was destroyed in the battle, which left Keith with more time to think about Lance and all the ways that Lance made him better. Now that the Garrison was nearly up and running again, and most of the surrounding areas had been pulled up faster than ever thought possible they were able to  _ actually _ go on a date. 

Apparently to the aquarium. 

Lances choice of course, even though Keith was the one that asked him on the date. 

The two of them walk over to a large wall of floor to ceiling glass that stretches across the length of the room, hundreds of colorful fish swim around inside, an array of corals litters the bottom of the tank, and the large rocks towering in the center. A sea turtle swims by, stopping only briefly as it grazes one of its flippers against the glass in front of a small ground of kids who giggle and follow after it down the glass. There are other smaller exhibits set up against large walls with colorful artwork, blurbs about keeping the oceans clean, and even scale cut-outs of the sharks on the far end of the room. 

“Did you know that clownfish and sea anemones are actually friends?” Lance points to the clownfish darting in and out of one of the blue-ish sea anemones in one of the smaller tanks. There’s a teasing smirk on his face, hands shoved into his pockets. “Kinda like us. Me the bright beautiful one getting everyone’s attention and you, the prickly, angry, ready to fight one.” 

At that one Keith rolls his eyes but follows Lance over to where he’s looking at the fish. “I’m not prickly.” 

“Whatever you say, buddy.”

After a beat. “You are like a clownfish…, ya’know a clown.” 

The look Lance sends him would have killed a weaker man than Keith, but he has never backed down from a fight, and on more than one occasion has welcomed a premature death. This look is nothing. 

“Ow.” Lance claps on hand hard into the center of his chest. “I thought we were supposed to be on a  _ date _ , and here you are making fun of me.”

“You started it!” Keith insists, feet moving on their own to bring him closer to where Lance is standing. Despite everything, he can feel the tips of his ears warming. When Lance doesn’t look over at him, a pout follows, and a beat or two later he realizes that he’s not going to look back over he huffs. “I was  _ kidding _ .”

“I know.” 

Blue-grey eyes narrow, shoulders slumping in defeat only mere seconds later. Even if he wanted to now he wouldn’t be able to fight with Lance. Not here on their first date, not back at the Garrison, not in space, and not in either of their apartments; that would go to the grave with him. 

They both walk side by side, close enough that on occasion their hands brush and their shoulders bump together; it’s  _ nice _ , Keith thinks. Lance spouting odd facts about the sea creatures they pass, excited about each and every single one of them, he even snaps a few photos to send to Pidge later on. Now that Keith is here, in this moment, trying his hardest to stop the smile that wants to split open his face he can’t imagine why he’d ever thought about writing Lance off in the first place. Sure he was loud, and he boasted. Yes he was vain about his skin care, and he had some less than stellar plans at times. but…. 

This Lance was the Lance that people deserved to see. The one whose so excited about every creature that he can’t stay at on exhibit too long, the one where he’s spouting off all this knowledge that people don’t think he has, the one that helps the kids get a better look at the fish in their tanks, or points out to them where the sea turtle hides. People all around deserve to see this Lance, to think of this Lance when they read back his name in history books. 

Eventually they make it through the first room and out into a long hallway, water all around them, kept out by plexiglass. Fish of all kinds, sharks and rays swam around them as person after person stood and watched. Keith caught the look on Lances face — pure, unadulterated joy. The way the light hit his eyes as he watched a school of fish swim by right next to him made Keith wish they could stay in this moment forever. 

Keith hesitates for only half of a second, his fingers twitching toward the hand hanging loosely by Lance's side. There’s already a light dusting of pink on the high parts of his cheeks, a tingle already bubbling under his skin at the mere thought of connecting their palms and intertwining their fingers.  _ Fuck it _ , Keith thinks, he’s spent too much time going back and forth with these feelings that he has for Lance — enough is enough. 

With a touch more force than necessary Keith let his hand reach out, fingers brushing across Lance’s palm before slipping between the empty spaces. It feels like the sweetest electricity has woven its way through his skin, his muscles and wrapped itself around his bones. He squeezes  _ just _ enough. 

If he’d known that holding Lance's hand would have felt like this all along he would have done it ages ago and not for the first time in their first Earth date. He’d have done it in the Black Lion watching a meteor shower from miles away, or under the night sky of some planet watching the stars, even hidden together on The Castle of Lions away from the prying eyes of their friends. Another pressure tears a hole in his thoughts, Lance has closed his fingers around Keith’s hands, squeezing back  _ more _ than enough. 

Keith looks away, his blush becoming more evident on his cheeks, lips pursing in a pout at the smile he can see in his peripheral vision. This is the thing about Lance, he can talk to anyone and anything about the smallest most insignificant things, he can laugh and smile and be loud with them; but  _ that _ smile  **this** smile is only reserved for him. For as much as Lance gives away he still always saves the best parts of himself for Keith.

Sometimes, like now, it’s too much. 

But in this one long hallway, surrounded by sea creatures he hasn’t seen in years, holding hands with the boy that knows him better than he knows himself, listening to the endless stream of facts from Lance’s mouth, he thinks that maybe too much isn’t always a bad thing.

**Author's Note:**

> hi! i was recently plunged back into vld hell and got to thinking about keith and lance having a date at an aquarium and thus this was born. this is my first time ever writing for vld so, bare with me thank you. i hope you all enjoyed this lighthearted piece in these trying times. 
> 
> come yell at me on [twitter!](https://twitter.com/kittsukii)


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